Brown Sludge Well Water - White Socks and Vitamin C is the answer!

[SMcCann]

Hi Tina. Yes, I know what you mean by "so brown it's almost black", but looking at the pool full of water can be deceiving; it looked so much worse than it was. Yes, it was bad, but not as bad as it looked. A stack of those disposable ZipLoc bowls lets you periodically scoop and compare for progress checks. Just keep them and line them up side by side to see your progress. I stirred the water well with the skimmer pole before I filled my test bowls.

We added AquaChem's Super Water Clarifier. The label reads, "Combines small particles for easy filter removal." We added it twice, as directed, "1 fl oz per 5000 gallons". The Chlorine/Shock reacts with the iron, causing it to "rust" and turn the water brown. The Clarifier clumped the iron so the filter could catch it easier. I inserted the filter into the sock to catch more and rinsed the filters often. It was amazing how much was caught by the sock/filter. In addition, sock attached to the filter outflow fountain to catch what the filter missed.



It just looks better every day! This time las Sunday, I too was looking at a pool full of brown sludge. I thought it was wonderful Monday when I posted my first pictures. Look how much better it is today! I took the photo on the right this morning!!! We are thrilled. We have added no additional chemicals or clarifier. No additional Shock. No additional Vitamin C. We just floated a Chlorine Tab in the filter and I only rinse the filter once a day. I still see "rust particles" when I rinse but they are not visible in the pool.

[tina411]

Darn! I just got back from the store and saw that product...didn't get it though. We are pretty remote here in Paw Paw. It takes an hour to drive to nearest shopping area which is Winchester VA. I will definitely go back into town tomorrow and get this and give it a try. I thought it was to use after the brown was gone and the water looked cloudy. Thank you very much for the name...and the picture is very helpful too.

[PoolDoc]

Sorry it took so long to mod this in -- we're very careful about letting people recommend specific products, and this was one I hadn't heard of. After checking out their product website:
http://www.cleanerpools.net/slimebag.php
I think it sounds interesting.

If you purchase one of these, I'd really, really like to hear how it works out. You may want to read the website, to make sure you understand the differences between the two. I wouldn't use the X-tra unit, till 100% of the algae is dead.

[tina411]

Please, no apologies needed. I'm just grateful that you all are here and are responding. I'm getting more info from this site than I've gotten during the last 3 years searching other sites and talking with sales people at the pool stores. I should also say the information here is quite helpful too. If I use this product I will be sure to share my results. I also got some great products to try from my first post I made yesterday about metal products.

I have used a pre-filter before. It's called EcoOne Pre-filter and it claims to dissolve heavy Metals, Lime, Scale, Organic Contaminants among other things. The filter itself should have been good for two pool fills. I had a smaller pool last year ...less than 4000 gallons and it was supposed to be good for up to 8000. You attach it to the end of the garden hose. Big waste of money for me. First time chlorine hit my pool water got the green then the brown.

[PoolDoc]

It's called EcoOne Pre-filter and it claims to dissolve heavy Metals, Lime, Scale, Organic Contaminants among other things. . . . . Big waste of money for me.

I've pretty well concluded that ANY swimming pool product with the letters "Eco" in the name is a rip-off! There might be a few exceptions, but they aren't coming to mind at the moment.

[SMcCann]

Hi All, I found a bulk, powdered, Vitamin C (Vitamin C Ascorbic Acid Powder). I will be switching to this from the tablets when the tablets are all gone. The bulk powder won't have the additives they use to make the tablets. Also, I can measure the amount I want to add easier.

This is a 5 pound container on Amazon for $27.91 on 6/4/2012. Shipping to me in North Carolina was only $2.49. Less than the cost of gas round trip to town.

NOW Foods Citric Acid Powder Bulk, 5 Pound Tub

[PoolDoc]

Hi SMC;

The only problem with your "Ascorbic Acid" (vitamin C) is that it's "Citric Acid" (lemon juice acid)!

You can use citric acid for metal clean up; some pool chemical companies sell it for that purpose. But, it's not as effective as ascorbic acid. However, with the larger dose it may well work very well for you. Keep in mind that neither citric or ascorbic acid are chlorine compatible -- chlorine rapidly destroys both. Also, the by-products formed when chlorine breaks down citric acid are better not breathed -- so don't swim once you begin re-chlorinating, till you've held a chlorine residual for a few hours.

And . . . if you'll use polyquat while your are using the citric, you won't have to worry about the pool getting algae. Polyquat is compatible with BOTH chlorine and citric acid, so you can begin adding it while you are letting your chlorine levels drop.

[SMcCann]

Thanks so much for clarifying the difference between Ascorbic Acid and Citric Acid. This has all been so confusing and stressful. I really appreciate your tips and cautions about combining Citric or Ascorbic Acid with Chlorine. I did additional research after your reply and found this Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin C Powder - 11 pounds for $59.99 with shipping to me in North Carolina of just $1.89. That's just $5.63/pound.
Ascorbic Acid Vitamin C Powder USP Pharma Grade 11 Lbs

Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin C is what got me the beautiful pool water we now enjoy. Thanks also for the tip about Polyquat!